“Every child is an artist.” -Pablo Picasso
My favorite thing to do, as a babysitter, is to make art with my kids. Every child is a little bit different; they have different skill sets, interests, and perspectives. One of the best ways I can nurture my kids’ strengths, develop strong relationships with them, and have fun is to engage in creative art projects with them.
This post is about paint pour-overs. It’s super easy, fun, active, and turns out great every time.
Here’s What You Need
- One canvas per child. (They can be thin, cheap canvases. It will still look good!)
- One disposable cup per child (plastic or paper cups preferred).
- A variety of acrylic paints. I use Craftsmart from Michaels.
- Garbage bags / sheets to lay on the ground outside.
- Drying racks or something elevated that allows for excess paint runoff.
Directions
- Lay down garbage bags on the ground as tarps. Secure them so they don’t blow away. Do this outside or in a garage if the weather is not permitting.
- Set up the drying rack on top of the garbage bag to avoid painting the grass like we did.
- Put the canvas or canvases on top of the drying racks.
- Here’s the fun part: Have the kids fill each of their disposable cups with paint of different colors. Instruct them to NOT STIR the paint. Fill the cups about half-way full to 2/3 full. Usually, the paintings turn out better if the kids keep cool colors with cool colors and warm colors with warm colors. But, if you’ve got a child with a keen artist’s eye, let them experiment!
- Have the kids pour some paint onto the canvas. Then, have them tilt the canvas so that the paint will drip/flow in different directions. Add more paint and repeat until content with results.
- Done! Let them dry overnight or for 48 hours.
